Ontario could pursue antitrust suit in ONT battle

ONTARIO - Negotiations over a transfer of control of LA/Ontario International Airport may be ongoing, but one councilman already has a plan if they fail - filing an antitrust lawsuit against the city of Los Angeles.

Wapner and other local officials have long expressed displeasure over the state of the Ontario airport, especially its passenger figures that have fallen from 7.2 million in 2007 to an estimated 4.2 million this year.

In recent months, an effort to have the management of the Ontario airport move from Los Angeles to local control has heated up. ONT is currently operated by Los Angeles World Airports, which is a Los Angeles department.

Wapner serves as president of the Ontario International Airport Authority, a regional alliance set up in case Los Angeles turns over control of ONT.

The case for antitrust stems from how LAWA - which also manages Los Angeles International and Van Nuys airports - have operated ONT. An antitrust case is brought against parties that limit free competition in the market place.

Just before the Los Angeles City Council agreed to begin negotiations over ownership of ONT, some council members indicated they wanted to make sure that ONT wouldn't become a competitor to LAX and take away flights.

"To me that means they are trying to control air travel through the region - potential antitrust violation," Wapner said.

One of the reasons LAWA has not offered incentives at the Ontario airport is that it could compete with LAX, he said.

"We have the best attorneys in the country on antitrust law and contract law and listed the assistance of our congressional delegation," Wapner said.

For more than a month, Los Angeles officials and Ontario authority representatives have been negotiating about the airport's future. The two sides are in the infancy stages of the discussions to determine an agreeable value for the airport.

LAWA Executive Director Gina Marie Lindsey said she hopes the sides can work together if negotiations fail, but would prefer that a deal is reached.

"If they don't, I would hope we would lean in together to figure out a way to increase traffic," Lindsey recently said.

She added though that it is not the time to point fingers about who is to blame for the situation at ONT.

"I hope we reach appropriate terms on a sale, if we don't, we join resources for ONT's success rather than deeper the loss," Lindsey said.

But Wapner notes it took the city of Los Angeles nearly fours years to come to the negotiating table.

In 2007, city officials first noticed airport passenger traffic taking a dip. And when passenger traffic at other airports in the region began to increase, ONT continued to decline, he said.

Ontario officials launched efforts in 2008 to regain control of ONT.

Earlier this year, city officials launched a social media campaign to raise awareness about their concerns.

The efforts were successful in getting Los Angeles City Council members to begin discussions on transferring ownership of ONT to local control.

"Why is L.A. is even fighting it?" Wapner said.

"The only thing that I can think of is that they want the ability to control what they perceive is competition. We always felt that but to prove it is something different."